VIM files appeal to ITC over ‘erroneous’ decision

The ITC ruled last week that Presstek’s patents are valid and enforceable, and that VIM’s importing and selling certain digital offset printing plates into the US infringed that intellectual property.

Israel-based VIM has filed a Petition for Review to the ITC outlining what it believes are “errors of law and fact” within this decision.

The group maintains that the ruling does not mean it is barred from importing and selling plates in the US while the ITC reaches a final decision on the case. However, Presstek has said that the judge has recommended that VIM “be required to pay into court one dollar for every dollar’s worth of infringing product that VIM imports and sells in the US”.

Avigdor Bieber, founder and chief executive of VIM, said that his company “respects intellectual property rights of others”.

“However, we are confident that we do not infringe any of Presstek’s patents, and are certain the full ITC will reach the same conclusion,” he said.

“It is regrettable that Presstek continues to feel the need to harass and intimidate VIM’s distributors and customers, rather than trying to compete with us fairly in the marketplace.”

Presstek, which is headquartered in the US, said that the ITC decision will not allow it to recover damages directly, although if the initial decision is ratified unchanged, it would establish that VIM may have been aware of potential infringements as far back as 2004.

This could give Presstek some grounding to seek damages through further litigation. The company said: “We may launch additional suits against VIM in other jurisdictions, if we feel it is appropriate. But we are finding that more and more distributors of VIM plates are abandoning VIM because they realise that they are subjecting themselves to significant risk by selling illegally infringing products.”

Presstek has also filed suits against US and Canadian distributors and has succeeded in gaining an agreement with Ohio Graphco to cease sales.

The judge in the ITC decision recommended that other distributors, including Spicer’s Paper, Guaranteed Service and Supplies, Recognition Systems and AteCe Canada, be banned from the import and sale of VIM plates.

Read the original article at www.printweek.com.

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